FUNERAL PLANNING RESOURCES
AN OVERVIEW OF CATHOLIC FUNERAL RITES
READINGS FOR THE FUNERAL LITURGY
MUSIC AT FUNERALS
BEREAVMENT AND FUNERALS
The purpose of the funeral Mass is to:
– offer worship to God for Christ’s victory over death,
– comfort the mourners with prayers, and
– pray for the soul of the deceased.
A wake service is commonly held the evening before the funeral Mass at a private home or at a funeral home. Relatives or friends who wish to speak of the deceased’s character and accomplishments may do at the wake service. If no wake is scheduled, words of remembrance may be offered at the graveside or at a funeral reception after the funeral Mass.
According to the Order of Christian Funerals and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, there is never to be a eulogy at a funeral Mass. GIRM 338 (1969), OCF 27 (1987), GIRM 382 (2010)